[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 9807 Introduced in House (IH)]
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118th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 9807
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a grant program to
provide surge capacity for providers faced with increased unmet need
for contraceptive care.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
September 25, 2024
Ms. Caraveo (for herself, Ms. Lois Frankel of Florida, Ms. Williams of
Georgia, Ms. Manning, Mrs. Peltola, Ms. Brownley, Ms. Norton, Ms. Bush,
Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Gottheimer, Mr. Allred, Ms. Pettersen, and Ms. Titus)
introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on
Energy and Commerce
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend the Public Health Service Act to authorize a grant program to
provide surge capacity for providers faced with increased unmet need
for contraceptive care.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``Strengthening Access to
Contraceptive Care Act''.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
Congress finds the following:
(1) Nearly 9 in 10 women of reproductive age have used
contraception, and nearly 9 in 10 adults agree that everyone
deserves access to the full range of birth control methods, no
matter who they are, where they live, or their economic status.
(2) More than 19,000,000 women, plus more transgender and
nonbinary individuals, of reproductive age in the United States
live in contraceptive deserts, meaning they lack reasonable
access in their county to a health center offering the full
range of contraceptive methods.
(3) Additionally, 1,200,000 of such women live in a county
without a single health center offering the full range of
contraceptive methods.
(4) Research shows that Black women are more likely to live
in a contraceptive desert, and face barriers accessing
pharmacies.
(5) Systemic racism, discrimination, and lack of access to
comprehensive sex education exacerbates severe health
inequities and creates additional barriers to accessing
contraception.
(6) Due to high uninsured rates and barriers, Hispanic
women with low incomes experience a significantly higher rate
of unintended pregnancy, of 58 percent, compared to their White
counterparts, with a rate of 33 percent.
(7) A 2023 study found that among people who identified as
Asian American, Native Hawaiian, or Pacific Islander, Black or
African American, Indigenous, Latina, or Latinx, 45 percent of
respondents reported experiencing at least one challenge
accessing contraception in the past year.
(8) To address the challenges in accessing contraceptive
care, proper investments need to be made to improve
availability to such care nationwide, with a particular focus
in the counties where health centers currently do not offer the
full range of methods.
(9) The family planning safety net has been chronically
underfunded and is in dire need of significant additional
investment. The family planning program under title X of the
Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.) has been
funded at the same level for a decade, and needs more than 3
times the current funding level to meet the demonstrated need.
However, even if such program were fully funded, there would
still be factors that strain provider capacity and limit the
ability to meet the needs of contraception patients.
SEC. 3. GRANTS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTIVE CARE.
Subpart V of part D of title III of the Public Health Service Act
(42 U.S.C. 256 et seq.) is amended by adding at the end the following:
``SEC. 340A-1. GRANTS TO INCREASE ACCESS TO CONTRACEPTIVE CARE.
``(a) In General.--The Secretary shall carry out a grant program
consisting of awarding grants to eligible entities to increase their
capacity to provide contraceptive care to individuals seeking to access
contraceptive care within or outside of their States of residence.
``(b) Eligible Entities.--To be eligible to receive a grant under
this section, an entity shall--
``(1) be a hospital, clinic, or other health care facility,
university, nonprofit organization, community-based
organization, State or local governmental entity, or Tribal
government that, through programs, services, or activities that
are unbiased and medically and factually accurate--
``(A) provides or refers for abortion services; or
``(B) provides unbiased information and counseling
about abortion; and
``(2) be in a State, the District of Columbia, or a
commonwealth, territory, or possession of the United States.
``(c) Priority.--In awarding grants under this section, the
Secretary shall give priority to eligible entities--
``(1) in States that, as determined by the Secretary, can
demonstrate an increased unmet need for contraceptive services;
and
``(2) which, as of the date of the enactment of this Act,
have received a grant under title X of the Public Health
Service Act (42 U.S.C. 300 et seq.).
``(d) Authorized Activities.--A grant under this section may be
used for any of the following supplies, equipment, or services related
to providing contraceptive care:
``(1) Providing patient education on all methods of
contraception approved, granted marketing authorization, or
cleared under the Federal Food Drug, and Cosmetic Act, or
licensed under section 351 of this Act.
``(2) Purchasing of contraceptive supplies, including
emergency contraception.
``(3) Providing person-centered contraceptive counseling.
``(4) Based on the outcome of counseling under paragraph
(3), as the patient is interested, provide contraception free
from coercion, including hormonal contraception medication and
devices, barrier contraception, and emergency contraception.
``(5) Administering telehealth services, which may include
audio, video, and text messaging services.
``(6) Contracting or hiring clinical and nonclinical
support staff, and other relevant health care personnel.
``(7) Creating and disseminating medically-accurate,
culturally- and linguistically-appropriate, accessible
educational materials and resources on contraception and
contraceptive care for patients.
``(8) Interpretation and translation services.
``(9) Contraception referrals and counseling.
``(10) Follow-up contraceptive care, including the
management, evaluation, and changes, including the removal,
continuation, and discontinuation, of contraception.
``(e) Application.--To seek a grant under this section, an eligible
entity shall submit an application to the Secretary at such time, in
such manner, and containing such information as the Secretary may
require, including a plan for increasing capacity as described in
subsection (a).
``(f) Prohibition Against Exclusion of Qualified Eligible
Entities.--No Federal agency, grantee, subrecipient, or other entity
shall, in the course of administering or carrying out any program or
activity under this section, act in a manner which has the effect of
excluding, limiting, or restricting the participation of any entity
that would otherwise be eligible to apply for funds, on the basis of
any factor unrelated to the entity's qualifications to effectively
carry out the program or activity.
``(g) Definitions.--In this section:
``(1) Contraceptive care.--The term `contraceptive care'
means education, person-centered counseling, and provision of
any method of contraception approved, granted marketing
authorization, or cleared under the Federal Food Drug, and
Cosmetic Act, or licensed under section 351 of this Act,
including emergency contraception.
``(2) Contraception.--The term `contraception' means a
device, medication, procedure, or behavior that is intended to
prevent pregnancy. Such term includes any device, medication,
procedure, or behavior listed in the most recently published
Birth Control Guide published by the Food and Drug
Administration, including--
``(A) sterilization surgery for women;
``(B) implantable rods;
``(C) copper intrauterine devices;
``(D) intrauterine devices with progestin;
``(E) injectable contraceptives;
``(F) oral contraceptives (combined pill);
``(G) oral contraceptives (progestin only);
``(H) oral contraceptives (extended or continuous
use);
``(I) contraceptive patch;
``(J) vaginal contraceptive rings;
``(K) diaphragms;
``(L) contraceptive sponges;
``(M) cervical caps;
``(N) condoms;
``(O) spermicides;
``(P) emergency contraception (levonorgestrel);
``(Q) emergency contraception (ulipristal acetate);
and
``(R) any additional contraceptives approved,
granted marketing authorization, or cleared under the
Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act or licensed under
section 351 of this Act.
``(h) Authorization of Appropriations.--To carry out this section,
there is authorized to be appropriated $100,000,000 for each of fiscal
years 2025 through 2029.''.
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